Kia’s new Mohave Masterpiece is aimed at Toyota's LandCruiser

Toyota’s dominance of the tough off-roader market could be under threat as Korea contemplates a competitor to two of its most popular nameplates.

Kia has signalled its intention to take on the Toyota LandCruiser and Prado with its Mohave Masterpiece concept car revealed at the 2019 Seoul motor show.

Boasting a bold new toothy grille, the boxy large SUV motor show special is claimed to be “rugged and robust”, giving a hint that Kia could soon sell an SUV made for rough roads.

The Mohave Masterpiece — or simply Masterpiece, as it is referenced in Kia’s media material — shares its truck-like ladder frame underpinnings with the larger Kia Telluride and Hyundai Palisade.

Its new grille is the latest incarnation of the brand’s signature “tiger nose”, something that looks set to be adapted across other Kia models in future.

Kia’s new Mohave Masterpiece show car is a pointer to a possible LandCruiser rival. Pic: Supplied.

“The Masterpiece hints at how the brand could adapt its latest designs and features for the large off-road SUV segment,” Kia said in unveiling the concept.

While it’s only a concept for now, it’s believed to be close in size to the Toyota Prado, one of the top-selling off-road wagons in Australia.

The Prado and LandCruiser help cement Toyota’s reputation for reliability and capability, two things that rub off on Corollas and Camrys.

While Kia and Hyundai have enjoyed more than a decade of strong growth, there are still holes in their product line-ups, including utes and SUVs designed to go off-road.

Kia and Hyundai are currently developing utes that should arrive in two or three years, while an off-road wagon also appears on the radar.

Key to the Masterpiece’s chances of roughing it with the similarly-sized Prado is the car being produced with the steering wheel on the right.

Currently the Palisade and Telluride are made only in left-hand drive, predominantly for the US market.

The Mohave is built on a tough, truck-like platform for serious offroading. Pic: Supplied.

Details of the Masterpiece are limited, although Kia claims it has a “luxurious, hi-tech cabin”.

That could include Kia’s Real-time Emotion Adaptive Driving (READ), also on display at the Seoul motor show.

With artificial intelligence that includes the ability to monitor the driver’s emotion using sensors and a 3D camera, it can adjust the infotainment and ventilation accordingly.

The Prado has been a firm favourite with serious offroaders and people who like to tow. Picture: Supplied.

The READ system also includes gesture control to adjust major functions, something that “potentially eliminates the need for buttons or a touchscreen interface”.

No word on whether and when the Masterpiece would arrive in showrooms, other than strong hints that it is headed for the production line.

Kia claims it provides “an insight into how Kia could develop its model line-up in future, in terms of design, layout and use of technology”.